"And God saw that it was good" (Gen 1:12, 18, 21, 25). The biblical account of the beginning of the history of the world and of humanity speaks to us of a God who looks at creation, in a sense contemplating it, and declares: "It is good". This allows us to enter into God’s heart and precisely from within him, to receive his message. We can ask ourselves: what does this message mean? What does it say to me, to you, to all of us?1. It says to us simply that this, our world, in the heart and mind of God, is the "house of harmony and peace", and that it is the space in which everyone is able to find their proper place and feel "at home", because it is "good". All of creation forms a harmonious and good unity, but above all humanity, made in the image and likeness of God, is one family, in which relationships are marked by a true fraternity not only in words: the other person is a brother or sister to love, and our relationship with God, who is love, fidelity and goodness, mirrors every human relationship and brings harmony to the whole of creation. God’s world is a world where everyone feels responsible for the other, for the good of the other. This evening, in reflection, fasting and prayer, each of us deep down should ask ourselves: Is this really the world that I desire? Is this really the world that we all carry in our hearts? Is the world that we want really a world of harmony and peace, in ourselves, in our relations with others, in families, in cities, in and between nations? And does not true freedom mean choosing ways in this world that lead to the good of all and are guided by love?

2. But then we wonder: Is this the world in which we are living? Creation retains its beauty which fills us with awe and it remains a good work. But there is also "violence, division, disagreement, war". This occurs when man, the summit of creation, stops contemplating beauty and goodness, and withdraws into his own selfishness. When man thinks only of himself, of his own interests and places himself in the centre, when he permits himself to be captivated by the idols of dominion and power, when he puts himself in God’s place, then all relationships are broken and everything is ruined; then the door opens to violence, indifference, and conflict. This is precisely what the passage in the Book of Genesis seeks to teach us in the story of the Fall: man enters into conflict with himself, he realizes that he is naked and he hides himself because he is afraid (cf. Gen 3: 10), he is afraid of God’s glance; he accuses the woman, she who is flesh of his flesh (cf. v. 12); he breaks harmony with creation, he begins to raise his hand against his brother to kill him. Can we say that from harmony he passes to "disharmony"? No, there is no such thing as "disharmony"; there is either harmony or we fall into chaos, where there is violence, argument, conflict, fear ....It is exactly in this chaos that God asks man’s conscience: "Where is Abel your brother?" and Cain responds: "I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?" (Gen 4:9). We too are asked this question, it would be good for us to ask ourselves as well: Am I really my brother’s keeper? Yes, you are your brother’s keeper! To be human means to care for one another! But when harmony is broken, a metamorphosis occurs: the brother who is to be cared for and loved becomes an adversary to fight, to kill. What violence occurs at that moment, how many conflicts, how many wars have marked our history! We need only look at the suffering of so many brothers and sisters. This is not a question of coincidence, but the truth: we bring about the rebirth of Cain in every act of violence and in every war. All of us! And even today we continue this history of conflict between brothers, even today we raise our hands against our brother. Even today, we let ourselves be guided by idols, by selfishness, by our own interests, and this attitude persists. We have perfected our weapons, our conscience has fallen asleep, and we have sharpened our ideas to justify ourselves. As if it were normal, we continue to sow destruction, pain, death! Violence and war lead only to death, they speak of death! Violence and war are the language of death!3. At this point I ask myself: Is it possible to change direction? Can we get out of this spiral of sorrow and death? Can we learn once again to walk and live in the ways of peace? Invoking the help of God, under the maternal gaze of the Salus Populi Romani, Queen of Peace, I say: Yes, it is possible for everyone! From every corner of the world tonight, I would like to hear us cry out: Yes, it is possible for everyone! Or even better, I would like for each one of us, from the least to the greatest, including those called to govern nations, to respond: Yes, we want it! My Christian faith urges me to look to the Cross. How I wish that all men and women of good will would look to the Cross if only for a moment! There, we can see God’s reply: violence is not answered with violence, death is not answered with the language of death. In the silence of the Cross, the uproar of weapons ceases and the language of reconciliation, forgiveness, dialogue, and peace is spoken. This evening, I ask the Lord that we Christians, and our brothers and sisters of other religions, and every man and woman of good will, cry out forcefully: violence and war are never the way to peace! Let everyone be moved to look into the depths of his or her conscience and listen to that word which says: Leave behind the self-interest that hardens your heart, overcome the indifference that makes your heart insensitive towards others, conquer your deadly reasoning, and open yourself to dialogue and reconciliation. Look upon your brother’s sorrow and do not add to it, stay your hand, rebuild the harmony that has been shattered; and all this achieved not by conflict but by encounter! May the noise of weapons cease! War always marks the failure of peace, it is always a defeat for humanity. Let the words of Pope Paul VI resound again: "No more one against the other, no more, never! ... war never again, never again war!" (Address to the United Nations, 1965). "Peace expresses itself only in peace, a peace which is not separate from the demands of justice but which is fostered by personal sacrifice, clemency, mercy and love" (World Day of Peace Message, 1975). Forgiveness, dialogue, reconciliation – these are the words of peace, in beloved Syria, in the Middle East, in all the world! Let us pray for reconciliation and peace, let us work for reconciliation and peace, and let us all become, in every place, men and women of reconciliation and peace! Amen.

Author

Fr. Neil Buchlein, Pastor St. Mary Queen of Heaven Madison, WV

St. Joseph the WorkerWhitesville, WV

The world is like a river of which we drinkbut our sins pollute the waterAnd now the river is flooded so we must buildand ark of faith and trust in divine providenceI was in a room of darkness it wasn'tenough to open the window for airI had to unlock the door so I searched forthe key and what I found wasOur Lady of Medugorje saying to:

Me and my brothers and sisters we were strugglingbetween heaven and hellWe found it hard to understand how we gotsunk into a spiral of negative and demonic spellsSo we went on a pilgrimage searching for healingat the heavenly wellsWe came across a wise man telling us children it's verysimple, conversion, mass the sacraments and

Chorus

Oh we've got to pray, pray pray pray,pray pray pray for a happier day

Need a childlike faith to enter into heaven'til the harvesters come don't be afraid

We all have our crosses to carry if we carrythem humbly there's no need to worryIf we forgive we'll be forgiven then ourpurified hearts will feel thepresence of God's eternal love burn insideI ain't no religious expert but I don't have tobe to know that God ain't illusionI'm testifying what I witness 'cause a faithwithout acts is a dead faith that's whyI wrote this song so we can

Chorus

Oh we've got to pray, pray pray pray,pray pray pray for a happier day

Pray pray pray for a happier dayGot to pray for a better dayPray pray pray for a happier dayGot to pray for a better dayPray pray pray for a happier dayGot to pray for a better dayPray pray pray for a happier dayGot to pray for a better dayPray pray pray for a happier day

Let us not close our hearts, let us not lose confidence,let us never give up: there are no situations which God cannot change.Pope Francis

"God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have a mission; I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons; He has not created me for naught. I shall do good—I shall do his work. I shall be an angel of peace while not intending it if I do but keep his commandments. Therefore, I will trust him." Blessed John Cardinal Newmann

ObamaCare violates our religious liberty; Planned Parenthood takes our taxpayer dollars for its abortion business; and atheists are removing Christianity from America. Get your armour on for this satanic battle is here in our backyard.

Come, Holy Spirit, and renew the face of the earth through me. Fill me with Your life and Your grace, that my soul may be sanctified. Increase in me the gift of holy wisdom, that I may use wisely the gifts You have given me. Increase in me the gift of understanding, that I may hear and respond to Your call. Increase in me the gift of Your good counsel, that I may always follow God's will. Increase in me the gift of knowledge, that I may grow in holiness by knowing God and myself more fully. Increase in me the gift of love, that I may serve as Christ's hands and feet and voice sharing Your love with everyone I meet today. Come, Holy Spirit! Renew the face of the earth through me! Amen.

Consecrate Yourself to MaryUsing the Consecration Prayerof St. Louis-Marie de Montfort

I, (Name), a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in your hands the vows of my Baptism; I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before.

In the presence of all the heavenly court I choose you this day for my Mother and Queen. I deliver and consecrate to you, as your slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future; leaving to you the entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to your good pleasure, for the greater glory of God, in time and in eternity.

Our Lady of All NationsLord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father,Send now Your Spirit over the world;Let the Holy Spirit live in the Hearts of All Nations,That they may be preserved from degeneration, disaster, and war;May the Lady of All Nations, the Blessed Virgin Mary,Be our Advocate. AmenSeptember 20, 1951Bury me on my head for one day this world will be upside down." (Diogenes)

PRAYER FOR PRIESTSO Jesus, Eternal Priest, keep your priests within the shelter of your sacred heart, where none may touch them.Keep unstained their anointed hands, which daily touch your sacred body.Keep unsullied their lips, daily purpled with your precious blood.Keep pure and unearthly their hearts, sealed with the sublime mark of your priesthood.Let your holy love surround them, and shield them from the world’s contagion.Bless their labors with abundant fruit, and may the souls to whom they minister be their joy and consolation here on earth, and in heaven, their everlasting crown.Mary, Mother of Priests, pray for priests and vocations to the priesthood.– St. Therese of LisieuxQuote to live by:"Let nothing disturb you, nothing frighten you, all things are passing, God is unchanging. Patience gains all; nothing is lacking to those who have God: God alone is sufficient."- St. Teresa of Avila "Anyone who wishes to frolic with the devil, cannot rejoice with Christ." -St. Peter ChrysologusPrayer for Priests

O my Jesus, I beg You on behalf of the whole Church:grant it love and the light of Your Spirit,and give power to the words of priestsso that hardened hearts might be brought to repentanceand return to You, O Lord.

Lord, give us holy priests;You Yourself maintain them in holiness.O divine an Great High Priest,may the power of Your mercy accompany them everywhereand protect them from the devil's traps and snareswhich are continually being set for the souls for priests.May the power of Your mercy, O Lord, shatter and bring to naughtall that might tarnish the sanctity of priests,for You can do all things.AMEN.